The Dungeon Crawlers
by DarkJava
Summary: A story with my own blend of herbs and spices. Two old friends decide to loot a mysterious dungeon, but the quest becomes much larger than they anticipated. This be only my second story, so reviews are appreciated. Our Dwarves are Dorfier. I do not own WoW.
1. Chapter 1

The city of Alvesborough sat in among a collection of foothills at the northern end of a vast plains carpeted with emerald-green grass and dotted with the occasional stand of forest. All was kept lush and green under the impetus of regular rain showers that blew in from the Forbidding Sea to the east. The province had been founded mainly by High Elf and Dwarven migrants expanding from the Hinterlands to the west, as their population went on the recovery. The sunny weather enjoyed by the plains area was only too fitting for the High Elves, but it soon brought the various other races of the Alliance to settle there.

Alvesborough itself was of a modest size- much larger than a village but nowhere near some of the other, better known metropolises of Azeroth. Over the years, the city had turned toward intellectual pursuits after it's main attraction- the Acadamey for Arcane Arts and Sciences was constructed. The architecture of the city reflected it's High Elven roots, with a prevalence for high arched rooves and tall spires, and most of the decor on display being a mixture of blue and gold. The settlement was decidedly upscale with it's myriad coffee shops and hookah lounges set among the collection of tall buildings that made up the downtown area. A few prominent intellectuals held forums in their rotundas, open to anyone who could speak, and everything from ethics to history to the correct plural form of roof was up for debate.

The sun was beginning to sink along with the temperature, as another early spring day started to wind down. The Arcane Acadamey had held it's latest graduation ceremony that morning and the fresh graduates were gearing up to hit the taverns before the mass exodus from the dormitories that would occur in the next few days. The faculty had a three month vacation ahead of them and all was seemingly well with the world.

Adora Feldspar, the acadamey's current ranking Sorceress, lecturer and head budgeting chief, was unfortunately still separated from freedom by the remaining paperwork that had been piled high on her desk. Her day had consisted of a marathon of certificate signing and recommendation letter writing that had not ceased even for lunch and her hand was beyond cramping. The woman's features were unmistakeably Elven, although less obvious was the small mingling of Dwarven in her bloodline, which most likely contributed to her small, petite frame. Likewise, a Human ancestor had been responsible for the jet-black hair that flowed down in great long curled locks and framed her angular face. Her skin was light, flawlessly smooth and to her minor annoyance, remained just shy of tan regardless of how much sun exposure it received.

For a Sorceress, Adora dressed quite modestly and even in the hot summer months mostly opted for loose long sleeved tunics and skirts that came just short of her knees.

As the sun outside slipped out of sight, the paperwork was at last finished. Adora stuck her quill back into the ink bottle and leaned back in her chair, glancing up at the arched ceiling with a sigh and noting the cobwebs she had intended to clean since the previous year. Her office was tucked into a chamber just above the library, accessed by a set of spiral stairs and so she was accustomed to working in near silence. The campus had apparently finished clearing out by now, and even the occasional shuffle of papers or cough from below was absent. Her secretary had slipped out after depositing the last armload of papers for her. Adora shuffled through the desk and brought out a baneweed cigarette, lighting up with the flick of a match.

It wasn't for the cool points that she indulged in this little vice. The curriculum for becoming a Sorceress of any sort was a long and stressful one, and she had taken the habit up during a particularly heated time, when the tests came one after the other with only a few frantic nights in between to master a spell or incantation. Juliss Stern, her old roomate, had been the one to assure her it was a great substitute for coffee and would 'even her out'. Adora had been a nervous wreck when it came to tests, though she had passed easily. Living with Juliss had been the hardest test of all. The Human had a habit of loudly declaring "I just ADORE you!" and hugging her much too tightly. Roommates never could be quite normal.

The sound of the library's heavy double doors closing rang out from below, followed by footfalls- boots tapping out on the floor and drawing closer until they were at the base of the stairs. Adora did not have quite enough ranking to have to worry about political intrigues or assassins sent by jealous rivals, but it was still odd that somebody should want to see her at such a time. Burglars were not unheard of on school grounds. Thankfullly Adora had magic on her side, as well as a decent understanding of hand to hand combat, which her father had insisted she learn before he would permit her to date. Adora didn't have to spend much time wondering who it was, though she nearly fell out of her chair when the rogue emerged. The Gnoll had a cleaner appearance than his bretheren, his chestnut brown fur dotted with black spots the same color as the raggedy tunic and pants he wore. An old, heavily worn rucksack was slung over his shoulder and his face bore it's usual cheesey grin that Adora recalled well from their childhood. A chrome Dwarven revolver hung in a holster in his belt, while a dagger was sheathed on the other side. Technically, he was not a full Gnoll but in fact a member of the little known sub-species of High Gnolls. Aside from lacking a hunch back, they were more intelligent and less feral than their more familiar cousins.

"Samuel Prowler" Adora said flatly, blowing smoke as she talked. Despite the severe look on her fair face, the Gnoll retained his smile as he bowed briefly and made a sweeping gesture, "Lady Feldspar. It is an honor as always, and might I say-" She cleared her throat loudly, cutting him off, and frowned, "Look, I can't help you. Last time I busted you out of the pen, the sheriff made it clear my welcome was worn out". She took another drag as he stepped closer to the desk, "That's not why I've come. I've gone legitimate now" She raised an eyebrow, "Oh? You sure about that?"  
The tone of her voice was enough to cause his grin to fade. She indicated a large orb of clear glass set in a silver base that took up a corner of her desktop. She touched the smooth surface of the orb and it began to glow softly. Sam knew what she was doing and stood silently like a child about to be scolded as Adora ran her fingers back and forth across the orb. A moment later, an ethereal semi-transparent scroll appeared in the air above the crystal ball. His face was plastered in perfect likeness at the top, sporting the grin he now lacked. His image self blinked and turned it's head every few seconds as Adora read the text below. "Wanted: A Gnoll calling himself Thomas Gregory, implicated in a burglary spree that occurred over the course of a fortnight in the village of Innesburgh" She didn't bother with the remainder of the details, closing out the aethernet page and fixing him with a glare, "Tell me again how you've gone legitimate, Mr. Thomas Gregory, AKA the guy with two first names!" Sam fell silent for a moment, then sighed, holding his hands up, "Look, to be completely fair about this...I had to make that alias up on the spot". His old friend only shook her head at him, "Well it doesn't matter. The only way I can help you is by not summoning the city guard" She leaned back and placed her feet up on the desk. Her crimson gold fringed skirt slid up slightly and gave the tiniest preview of her shapely thighs, "Get out". He retreated a couple steps, then turned back to her, "Is it that easy to just turn me away?" She turned her gaze toward the ceiling again, the smoke from her cigarette dancing among the cobwebs, "Compared to the years I've spent worrying about you ending up at the gallows, yes it is that easy".

Sam reached the stairway and stood with a hand on the rail when he turned back once again, "I just needed your advice. I really do plan on turning to honest work". Adora doused her cigarette in a small ashtray and sat up straight in the chair, considering the Gnoll for a long couple of soundless moments. The two had split paths long ago but prior to that, they had been as any other inseparable pair of schoolyard friends. Sam's parents had lived in the wilds surrounding Alvesborough and together had ruled over a tribe of fellow High Gnolls as Cheiftain and High Priestess. But, as it inevitably happened among their kind, a coup got underway and they were cast out by their subjects, dumping Sam at an orphanage in the city before they continued to parts unknown.

Among the few tribesmen Sam had questioned about the subject, it was believed that his mother was a witch of some sort and suspected to be in league with demons. It was never clarified wether this was the reason for his parent's exile and he found himself caring less about the mystery as he would most likely never solve it. The mischief he and Adora made as children was benign, but as they grew older Sam began to devote more of his time into criminal activity. Pickpocketing the occasional tourist turned to shoplifting which turned to burglary, and soon the local gang took note of the rising prodigy. He had left the Alvesborough rouges after only a year however and presently lived mostly on the road and in the taverns, sleeping in the wilderness whenever he could find no drunken farm girl or lustful harlot to take him in for a night. Adora saw him less and less as his travels became farther and wider, but she was still able to glean some idea of his life from the sporadic visits.

The fragments of history floated up to Adora. Each positive memory was matched with something negative. He was a thief, plain and simple.  
"Wait for me outside. I'll be out in a second". He did as instructed, sitting on one of the low stone benches flanking the stairwell in front of the library. The city was steeped in deep blue light as the sun lingered just below the horizon.

Lining the cobblestone paths that wound through the campus grounds were tall iron lamps, topped with delicate metal tendrils woven around blue gems which were enchanted to illuminate at night. They winked on in pairs, giving the impression of a flat field of stars floating just overhead. Adora stepped outside in her cloak, locking the library doors behind her. Sam stood at the top of the stairs as she walked over, and to his surprise, she bent quickly and embraced him in a hug. Her dark hair fell about his face, and he caught a faint blueberry scent before she let him go. "It is good to see you" She admitted.  
"Now, if you want help, it's going to come with a stipulation. There will be absolutely no more lying" She told him, placing a finger inches from his snout, "It's pretty damn disrespectful and I won't stand for it. Next lie out of your mouth will get you a nice hair-loss spell". He nodded, unsure of how serious the threat was. For the first time in years, the two set off walking side by side.

Adora's cottage was a few blocks away- a two story timberframe affair sectioned off from the rest of the campus by a hedge. They entered via a silver gate shrouded with vines and stepped up to the covered porch. Adora unlocked the door to reveal a cozy-looking living room full of lush furniture and deep carpeting. A large tapestry depicting a phoenix hung on one wall. The legendary bird's death and subsequent rise from the ashes was a popular and sadly familiar tale to the High Elves. The interior was lit by warmly glowing crystals situated in a chandelier.

"So, what's your plan this time?" Adora asked a while later as she walked in from the kitchen with two steaming cups of tea, placing them on the glass coffee table fronting her couch where Sam sat, then plopped down on a recliner across from him. "Well...I know you won't beleive me" Sam started, pausing to gauge her reaction. She kept her face expressionless. "But I'm looking into a new career. A very lucrative one. Treasure hunting".

Adora frowned, "So instead of stealing from living people, you're going to be stealing from dead ones. That's...better?" He shrugged, "It's a tough game to get into, but I found a little something I think is going to be pretty profitable" He dug into his backpack laying at his feet and brought out a small well-used notebook. Bound in leather dyed a deep purple, a name had been scrawled across the front at one point but it was worn past being legible. An odd sort of red guilding ran along the book's spine bearing an unnerving resemblance to blood vessels in Adora's opinion. She took it from him and inspected it, "You stole somebody's journal and read it. That's pretty low, but since it's been done..." She opened the book and flipped through a few yellowed pages, "Anything juicy in here?"

"There's a page marked near the back" He said, "That's what I'm after". Adora found a folded page and glanced at it. It appeared to be a very detailed map of the region of wilderness far to the south where the plains ended and a mountain ridge rose. Inside the mountains was an X and in tiny writing it was labelled "Tower of Venus". Adora furrowed her brow, and briefly skimmed the rest of the book. It appeared to be detailing an expedition of some kind. The entries were short and vague, and spoke more of the miles traveled than the surroundings. It was looking more like a logbook of sorts

'Day 60 - Searched southern peak, nothing found. Six miles west of grey rock'

'Day 61 - Site found, beginning dig'  
'Will return for supplies'

The handwriting was very well done and uniform, making it clear an educated person had penned the entries. Toward the back, the pages were scrawled with crudely drawn maps that depicted winding corridors. The author had seemingly entertained himself with a sketch of a rather well endowed woman in the border of one of the maps. Adora rolled her eyes and continued reading. She noticed that the pages were slightly greasy, as if the book had been used to mop up an oil spill. She found herself wanting to wash her hands thoroughly. Finally, written on the very back page in larger bright red ink was 'Amulet of Yandor- It's here! Pity I could not retreive it' Adora closed the book and placed it on the coffee table. "Okay. So I'm guessing you want to find this place and loot it?" The Gnoll nodded enthusiastically.

"In summary, it's a bad idea".  
"You say that about everything!" He exclaimed, leaning his head on the top of the couch's back, "Why is it a bad idea? Can't you just zap me in there, I grab the amulet of endor or whatever it is, and zap out?"  
"No, no, and no" she replied, "Magic isn't...well it IS magic, but it doesn't work like that" She waved her hand, "But this is crazy in the first place. You don't know what that thing is, what it does, or even if it's still there. Assuming it is, it may not even be worth anything". Sam shook his head, "The guy I lifted this book from was a nobleman. If he was after it, I doubt it's just some piece of junk. Those fat cats can smell profit a mile off and underwater".  
"Well, that explains the bounty on your hide going up so quickly" Adora said with a hint of anger returning, "Mark my words, one of these days you'll cross the wrong person". She sipped some tea and calmed herself. Sam grabbed his cup of tea and knocked it back like a shot of whiskey, and was starting to wish he had some handy, "Look, the whole point of this is that I want to leave that life behind" He said, "If I make enough money off this thing, I was planning to move back here to Alvesborough. Once the heat is off me, anyway. Maybe I'd even have enough to buy myself out of trouble. And it would be the last time. Ever. I swear to the Light it will be".  
"I could help you with money, if that is what is needed" The Gnoll made it obvious this was a sour idea, "Absolutely not. I can't ask that of you" He said simply. His honor system was just as baffling as it had always been.

Loyalty and skepticism for the Gnoll waged a brief but furious battle within Adora. "I would like to see you do something worthwhile, Sam. If you're serious about it, I suppose I can do some research and see what I can dig up" She finished off her tea, "And it would be nice if the backyard got mowed at some point tomorrow, since I'm using my vacation time to help you". Sam nodded, with the familiar grin back in place, "You drive a hard bargain, but I can do that". They spent the remainder of the evening catching up before Adora retired to her bedroom upstairs while Sam enjoyed the couch, a bed made by angels compared to what he usually slept on.


	2. Chapter 2

Adora rose early the next morning as she commonly did out of habit. The sun already peeked in through the curtains and caused the jewel-encrusted bedposts around her to sparkle as she slid out from between her silken sheets. A carpet led the way over the polished hardwood floor toward the bath chamber, but Adora walked instead toward her patio door and stepped out into the pleasant morning air wearing only the small transparent lace bra she slept in, more of a strip of fabric than anything.

The curtains slid across her hips and buttocks soundlessly as she did so, her silhouette against the sunlight an hourglass of shadow. She leaned on the thick stone banister and glanced out past the campus and the city outskirts to where the foothills rose. She yawned and scratched behind her head, bending this way and that to work out the soreness in her neck. She caught movement in the yard below and saw that it was Sam, already risen and pushing the handle of a bladed wheel across her lawn trimming down the grass. He could not see her through the thick pillars of the balcony however and so she studied him. She frowned to herself as doubts about his intentions surfaced. She worried that perhaps nostalgia had clouded better judgement. He had claimed to be seeking to settle down, but then again he had claimed many things over the years. He was twenty-four, the same age as she was, and had not yet earned a single coin through honest labor. She wondered if it was even possible for such a thing to happen. After all, she could not imagine changing over to his ways and it stood to reason that it was just as daunting from his point of view.

She had given him her word though, she decided at last, and at the least could offer some more counsel against this latest scheme of his. She slipped back inside the house and took a quick bath, then threw on one of her more expensive pairs of wolf pelt underwear, a long-sleeved white tunic, and leather pants- her casual attire. Sam finished his job and entered the kitchen through the back door at the same time Adora did. He sneezed several times in rapid succession from the freshly cut grass, almost losing his balance on the smooth buffed tile floor. "Good morning to you too" Adora replied, setting a pot of coffee to brew. She opened a large ice chest and considered it's contents. The ham and eggs had unfortunately turned green and she tossed them in the garbage, but there was just enough of a meat and cheese Orcish dish she had made the previous night to feed the both of them, and a gooey spider cake served as dessert. "That is some good eating" Sam said pleasantly as he picked at his teeth with a nail. The habit annoyed Adora just as much as it had when they were teenagers. She pushed forward a small tin box of toothpicks and he took one. "I almost forgot what real food tasted like". The Gnoll leaned an arm over the back of the chair, then paused as though remembering something. "Say, were you up last night?" He asked her. She shook her head, dabbing a bit more sugar into her beverage. "No, I slept all night. Why do you ask?" He shrugged, "Eh, I must have had an odd dream. Could have sworn I heard somebody shuffling about in the dark. I figured it was you, or perhaps one of your fancy boys".

"I have no suitors at the moment. And anyway it doesn't look as if anything has been disturbed. You were probably dreaming about one of your skanks" She retorted. He feigned a hurt look, "I only entertain skanks on the weekends, and I wouldn't do it in your house. Even I have more manners than that". Adora nodded, "Good. So I won't have to burn my couch". She took a final sip of coffee and stood, "Ready to hit the books?"

There was nothing on the aethernet concerning the Tower, which in itself wasn't unusual. The invention was relatively new, and the sheer amount of information to be added was immense. Rumor held that Gadgetstan was working on a similar system using machines, which was laughed off by the science community. Turning electricity into words wasn't the most ridiculous thing the Gnomes had come up with however. The periodic explosions that came from Alvesborough's Gnomish district attested to that fact.

Adora felt like a student again as they set up shop at a table back downstairs in the library. She pored over history books, atlases, and various records, while the stolen notebook Sam had produced sat open to the side. She didn't feel entirely comfortable touching the greasy thing after seeing the smudge it had left on her coffee table. She turned it's pages magically as she considered it's contents. It definately hinted at a dungeon beneath the Tower of Venus, but no information was to be found in the library to confirm.

The breakthrough came at last, however, in an ancient looking binder of scrolls that detailed some of the history of the region when it was first founded. It was not a historical account so much as a collection of news articles from the time period- at least a hundred years prior, before the cities had grown up and were mere trading posts.

She read the article off to Sam. "Prominent wizard suspected of foul play at the Tower of Venus. Sol Greenfire, a leading authority on teleportation magics, has been confronted with accusations of utilizing homeless children and various slaves in experimental magical procedures at his private tower. A former assistant to the man provided a rather disturbing account of the wizard sending unwilling individuals through two portals. The victims emerged emaciated and twisted into grotesque forms, and could only utter the phrase 'longer than you think!' before expiring shortly thereafter. The posse sent to apprehend Sol was met with fierce resistance in a sprawling dungeon beneath the tower but emerged empty-handed. Sol is currently believed to be at large, and a bounty placed upon his head worth a record-breaking fifty-thousand coin dead or alive" She stopped reading from the scroll and looked up at Sam, "Well if nothing else you managed to find the one criminal in this part of the world worse than yourself".  
"Oh ha. ha. You're hilarious" He replied sarcastically. "It says nothing about the amulet though" Adora said, flipping through the few following pages. She put them down and massaged her temples, deciding to give another go at convincing the Gnoll against this.

"Samuel. I can not stress to you how much of a bad idea this is. If it was a bad idea before, then now it's a horrendous one".

"Um, why? If he was some hoity toity wizard, then there's bound to be a bunch of valuable stuff laying around his pad, right?" The look she gave him would have knocked him off his chair had she put any mana behind it, "That's the point you dingus! I guarantee this dungeon is haunted, full of traps, and this Sol Greenfire is practically legally obligated to become a lich" She shook her head, "I can't beleive you're this naive. How can you possibly still be alive?"  
"How could you call me a dingus? I thought we were friends" Sam said.  
"This is serious, you...you super dingus!" Adora yelled. She stood and swiped the book off the table and tossed it at him, catching him right in the stomach. "If you want to go kill yourself, I won't be involved any longer". He could only look on as she stormed out of the library, slamming the doors behind her. She re-entered a moment later and strode past to the stairwell to her office, emerging once again a moment later with a cigarette between her lips.  
"You're making it hard to quit these things too, by the way" She spat as she exited once more.

Adora took her smoke break at the center of the school grounds, where a fountain-fed pond was positioned in the midst of a stone pavilion. The morning was shaping up to be quite pleasant, warm with not a single cloud in the sky. A couple airborne travelers approached the city, two gryphons banking in an arc before descending and slipping from view beneath the rooftops near the city center. A rather plump waisted male student stood at the edge of the pond and from his wobbling, it could be assumed that he was still intoxicated from the previous night's partying.

"Lightning bolt!" He slurred to no one in particular, tossing a pebble into the pond with a splash. He threw another, "Lightning bolt!" Adora called out to him, "Hey! Knock it off, and get back to your dorm. If you damage something, I'll rip your graduation papers up!" He swung toward her and stammered an apology, recognizing the Sorceress even in his drunken haze then zig-zagged away. Adora stepped up to the pond and raised her hand, eyes flaring with a blue light briefly. The water, disturbed by the assault of tossed rocks, immediately flattened out and was still.

Adora had a particular talent for controlling kinetic energy. Able to rob objects of their momentum and absorb the energy only to send it back tenfold, she had risen quickly in rank with such skills. As she smoked and thought to herself, the realization dawned on her that there really was no dissuading her friend from his mission. A similar drama had played out years prior over his joining the local street gang. Once an idea was in his head, it refused to leave until it was carried out or rendered physically impossible. His stubbornness had been the cause of the original wedge that had been set between them, and time had only driven it in further. The concept of fate never sat well with her, but he seemed hell-bent on getting himself killed anyway. Sam was choosing this path, but it gave her the same sort of helpless bystander feeling that she loathed.

Samuel's reflection joined hers in the pond. "I'll leave, as soon as I get my stuff from your place" He offered solemnly. Adora turned to him, "Oh? Are we leaving that soon?" The Gnoll cocked an eyebrow and looked as if she had muttered gibberish. The color of his eyes was usually masked in contrast to his fur and dark clothing, but out here in the sunlight they displayed their true deep jade hue. "Um, what? What do you mean we?" He asked. Adora shrugged, "I'm going with you. Congrats, you've broken me" Sam stood with his mouth half open and so Adora elaborated, "The dungeon is no joke. But you won't listen and since I care about you for some bizarre reason, I'm going along so that you don't end up getting ripped to shreds by furious spirits".  
"I...I can't ask you to. I refuse to even mooch money off you, I can't ask you to do this"  
"Too bad"  
"But your vacation-"  
"It's a chance to do some adventuring. Look, I'm serious about it. Don't act like you're scared now" She dipped her cigarette into the water, dousing it, "The matter is settled. You need some kind of magical know how if you really want to tackle this place. I can hold my own" The Gnoll couldn't help but beam at the prospect of a traveling partner, though Adora was the last person he ever expected to join him. Aside from the occasional field exercise or camp out during her training, she had not done a lot of traveling and he knew she was not particularly fond of it. "Well heck, the more the merrier" He said.

She turned and sat down on the ledge of the pond, giving him a serious look. She spoke plainly and clearly, as if explaining a technique to a brand new student, "I can't keep on blaming you forever for the...shall we say, less than great decisions you've made. But, provided you are not lying about settling down here and getting an honest job, then I'll never bring it up again. All will be forgiven".

"All will be forgiven?" Sam asked, emphasizing the first word and raising his eyebrows, "Does that include the whole incident with the..." Adora rolled her eyes, "Yes, even the fire festival incident. Sure. But don't get any ideas. You are not in a damned romance novel".  
"You could really wreck a guy's confidence that way" Adora actually managed a chuckle at the statement, "You'll be fine. It takes you what, five minutes to get a bar wench's address?" Sam felt a conflux of rather confusing emotions at her attitude, but then remembered the journal he had tucked in his arm and the task at hand.

Adora had a leather backpack stashed beneath her bed, still quite new looking as it had seen no usage thus far. It contained a selection of potions, scrolls, as well as enough dried rations and water skins to last a week, along with a hunting knife, and change of clothes. It was nicknamed a bug-out bag, something to be grabbed and thrown on in a moments notice in case of an attack, invasion, or some other catastrophic event. Truthfully, she never expected to even use it, but it was there anyway as mandated by her careful nature. What some considered paranoid was just another redundant safety measure to her. She opened the bag and checked it's contents, adding a few spare potions borrowed from the chemistry department on the way back. Once the supplies were accounted for, she threw the pack on and  
took up a dark wooden staff that had sat in the corner of her bedroom. It had the appearance of four thin and long tree branches tangled together with one another. The staff was constructed in such a way that the branches were constantly exerting pressure on each other in order to provide a handy source of energy if needed. Satisfied it was in good condition, she slid it between her pack and back, then headed downstairs where Sam waited.

Their first stop was downtown, at a pub the local flight master was known to frequent. It was believed the old Dwarf was going senile, though it had not yet begun to interfere with his job. Papa Urist as he was known, fancied himself a comedian. He held regular performances at the pub. According to most, he was about as funny as Kodo dung, but he enjoyed a great deal of success among the other elderly Dwarves that knew him. The white-bearded Dwarf sat in an old rocking chair nursing a pipe, as an audience of older Dwarves surrounded him. There was absolute silence in the room as they anticipated his wisdom. Suddenly Urist stopped rocking and removed his pipe, pointing it at the audience "One Dwarf can whip fifteen foreigners" He replaced his pipe and resumed rocking as the audience cheered and shouted their agreement. "One-handed!" Someone else added.

"There's too much technology in the world today" He declared, to another round of applause.

"I am nowhere near drunk enough to listen to this" Sam muttered when they took seats at an empty table and waited while the Dwarf dispensed similar nuggets of knowledge. At last, the show was over and the Dwarves filed out of the pub, talking excitedly amongst themselves and contemplating the divine philosophical wisdom they had just witnessed.


	3. Chapter 3

The tower of Venus- or more accurately, it's remains, sat in a basin of rock among high mountains overlooking the plains below. Nothing much could be seen of the surrounding countryside after they descended into it, as the area was swathed in a dense tangle of plant life. Thick and tall pine trees many hundreds of years old were tangled with vines, while bushes filled the spots between. The grass blanketing the ground in patches here and there was a thicker, hardier variety. The main attraction was a shattered ring of eroded stone in a clearing in the center- the base of the demolished tower. Fragments of the structure could be seen jutting out here and there where the plant life did not conceal it. Inside the stone ring, bits and pieces of the original floor still peeked out with blades of grass creeping through the cracks. It was on an old crumbling dias that the Gryphons landed, depositing the Elf and High Gnoll before they leapt and took wing again. Sam immediately fell to his knees and grasped the edge of the platform, emptying his stomach with a loud splatter. Adora averted her eyes until he was finished. "Light, I never want to fly again" he said at last, standing.

"If thought that was bad, you should try teleportation some time" She replied. They took in their surroundings as they stepped down to the former floor, taking a set of stairs that had eroded to the point that it was more of a ramp now. "Some tower this is" Sam remarked, "Wonder how we get into the dungeon?"

The task of finding the dungeon entrance was a bit more difficult than expected. There were a great many jagged stone chunks jutting up among the ruins, covered with vines and plant growth so thick that any one could have concealed a tunnel. The ground was split apart in many places, as newly growing shrubs pushed it asunder with their roots. At one point, a huge bulb-shaped plant perched on a derelict wall section erupted, releasing a shower of spores into the air. Illuminated by the sunlight, it looked like a snow storm as it swirled around them. Sam uttered a few choice words as a sneezing fit overtook him.

The morning wore on into early afternoon and the sun was soon peeking down into the clearing. Adora had been anticipating the arrival of warmer weather, and the pleasant day made it hard to maintain enthusiasm about the quest she had undertaken. She leaned against the outer wall of the ruins as they took a break in the shade. "I'm starting to think this is a wild goose chase" She spoke, "If the tower's destroyed then maybe we can't even get into the dungeon. It could have been collapsed by whatever destroyed the place for all we know".

Sam spoke, but she didn't hear him. The air took on a strange magic suddenly, so potent that it appeared as if heat waves were rising from the ground. Adora tried to probe her surroundings magically and determine what was arising, but failed. Sam sensed the urgency in his friend and stood at the ready, a hand on his revolver as he tried to find the threat she had sensed. He could not see how the air twisted around them, leaving him all the more confused.

"What? What is it?" He whispered, receiving no answer from the woman standing beside him. Finally he nudged her arm in order to get her attention. She turned and moved her mouth, but no sound emerged. A silencing ward was in effect, he realised as she tugged his arm and motioned for them to run. They took off, headed for a section of the tower's outer wall that was missing. Above them, the sun arrived in the exact position that signified noon, and the portal activated.

The next thing Sam knew, he was lying on his back surrounded by pitch blackness that even his keen eyes could not penetrate. It was as if the sun had been doused all at once and he felt a brief moment of panic as he scrambled into a kneeling position. "Adora?" He called. The answer was closer to him than expected and he jumped. "Over here. We just got pulled through a portal, in case you were wondering".  
"Good thing my stomach is fricking empty" He muttered as he sniffed the air. It held the hint of dust and wet stone, but at least the pollen no longer assaulted his nose. There was nothing to suggest they had fallen into a trap or were being set upon by anything, no sounds were present aside from those made by the two explorers moving about.

Adora was shuffling through her backpack. "It's no problem. I brought my hearthstone along, so at least we don't need to worry about the exit" She explained. Something hit the ground with a sharp high-pitched clang of a stone on stone impact. "I brought yours along too. Found it in my attic a couple weeks back" Sam's look of astonishment was hidden but he scooped the oval stone up, "Wow. I can't beleive you kept this thing!" He sighed and pocketed it. "I guess it was kind of stupid to leave it behind". Adora chuckled, "You were an angsty teenager. You left it behind to symbolize you didn't have a home anymore. That's my theory anyway".  
"That's an interesting theory. More like I just forgot it" Was the Gnoll's reply.

A subtle shuffling of fabric was heard as Adora climbed to her feet, then a sudden light filled his eyes as she activated one of the cat's eye gems she had thought to bring. It was a baseball-sized orb of green crystal, and on the inside an intense luminous energy shone, burning in the shape of a cat's pupil. She set the device into orbit around her. The light danced over their new surroundings- a floor constructed from rectangular greenish stone, evenly set and apparently much newer than the ruins. They were in a large corridor, though the ceiling was not quite low enough to be seen. Half-pilliars were carved out of the walls and each one held an empty iron torch holder, rusted so badly they had fused with their racks. Behind them perhaps twenty feet, a pile of debris and rock blocked off the corridor in one direction, interlaced with roots and loose dirt that had slipped through the cracks over the years. Part of the dungeon had collapsed as Adora predicted. She couldn't quite figure out the purpose of the portal, but it was awfully convenient that it had dumped them in such a precise position. The gravity of the situation returned to her, as well as the danger. One of the roots tangled among the debris shuddered suddenly, sending a cascade of dust to the floor. She backed away slowly and grabbed Sam, "Well, we're here so let's get to exploring". They set off down the corridor. "Ha! You're getting into this. I like it".

The corridor ended a while later in a large wooden door, braced with iron with it's pull ring criscrossed by a spiderweb. Sam placed his ear against the aged wood but could not detect any activity on the other side. He nodded up at Adora and then tugged on the pull ring. The door refused to move. His next effort was only successful at dislodging the ring, which snapped off so suddenly that he fell backwards into Adora with a gasp. She in turn fell to a sitting position with the Gnoll's head in her lap.

The door creaked inward on the next room. It was a small generic-looking space about the size of the average living room. A wooden table occupied the center, above a rotted mass of fabric that had been a carpet at one point in time. An empty dust-covered shelf sat along the far wall, next to another door. The wood that composed the furniture looked as if it were ready to disintegrate at the slightest touch. "Oh, wow. Check this out" Sam said, stepping into the room toward an object sitting on the table. Adora saw that it was a skull of Human origin. "Gross, don't touch that" She said, but he ignored her and picked it up. He laughed, "No, this is kind of funny. This is literally the first thing I was expecting to see in a place like this".  
"Well, I guess dreams do come true. Now put the blasted thing down before you get a nasty curse" She said.

Sam worked the jaw of the skull up and down, simulating the thing talking, "Ack! Ack ack ack!" He said, thrusting it toward her. She shoved him away, "Light above, you are such a weirdo". Plastered on one of the walls was a map that appeared to depict the dungeon they were in. She instructed Sam to break out the journal and filed through it's withered pages for the section where the maps had been drawn. Refrencing one of the pages with the one on the wall confirmed that they were on floor ten.  
The amount of sketches in the book indicated the dungeon was well over fifty floors deep, and though it was difficult to judge each level's dimensions, an educated guess placed each one at about a city block in size. "This is insane, the place must be bigger than most towns" She said. She handed Sam the journal and brought out a scroll from her own things, unrolling it. She held the blank piece of paper up near the map and uttered a quick string of arcane words. Black lines sprouted on the blank scroll, twisting and turning until a perfect replica of the larger map was represented. She rolled the new map up then stashed it in her bag.

They moved on to the next door, and this one opened without any problems into a gargantuan circular chamber capped with a domed roof. Huge hallways sat side by side circling the walls. Aside from it's size it was mundane looking. There was an ambient murky light illuminating the area, not quite as intense as daylight but more than adequate. It had no source, but Adora immediately felt the magical aura it gave as she stepped through the doorway. Even Sam felt a momentary wave of goosebumps wend it's way up his body.

The room's main attraction was a small wooden structure in the center of the floor space. It appeared to be a food cart, like one of the many street vendors downtown that peddled food. No one could be seen operating the cart however. "Is that...? I'll be!" Sam exclaimed. His ever-keen nose indicated something very sweet in the area. He began to trot towards it, but Adora caught him by the scruff of his neck. "Dungeon rule one: Be careful" She hissed.

Their footsteps echoed as they approached slowly, heads on a swivel for any sort of foul play. Something emerged from behind the cart- a brown-furred wolf of considerable size, causing Adora and Sam to halt their advance. The creature sniffed at them, uttering a low growl. "What's the matter, biscuit?" The question was posed in a high-pitched, squeaky voice as a female Gnome appeared behind her pet. She had bright pink hair arranged in pigtails, with purple highlights and was garbed in a midnight blue dress. Her eyes widened as she glanced up at the two guests. "Oooh! Hey!" She greeted, "I wasn't expecting dungeon divers this early! Care for a bite?" The Wolf seemed to calm down and sat as his master hopped up a ladder on the opposite side of the cart so that she would be at eye level. She opened a panel to reveal an assortment of cakes, cookies, and muffins. Adora folded her arms, "That sounds good, but...why are you down here, if I may ask? Surely business must be slow for you".

The Gnome shrugged, "Actually I make decent money in this spot. Seems like there is a lot of traffic through here. I suppose an old place like this has a ton of treasure" She frowned, "But come to think of it, I don't have any regular customers". The wolf whined and looked up at her, tilting his head. She nodded, "Biscuit seems to think bad things happen on the lower levels". Sam exchanged a few copper for one of the muffins and chomped it down in record time. "The name's Kandi by the way" the Gnome said, shaking hands with Adora who introduced Sam and herself. Biscuit whined again and Kandi turned toward him, "Would you stop worrying already! I said I wasn't going to have your balls chopped off. Geez!" The wolf shook his head and made a sort of low yipping noise. The Gnome gasped. "Oh, translation error. Uh oh. Biscuit says that  
Spackle-Jaw is coming".

She hurridely closed up the panel on the cart, then hopped off and folded the stepladder up. "Who's that?" Adora asked. "A really nasty ogre" Kandi took a set of reins and attached them to her wolf, who stood obediently still until she was finished. "Fight or flee, you should pick one now" Kandi advised, hopping on top of her cart. "Biscuit! Super escape velocity go go go!" The wolf gave a hearty bark and took off running, dragging the cart away at full speed. It went on two wheels as they rounded a corner and disappeared down an open hallway.

"Come on, let's g-oh." Adora cut her sentence off when a hulking figure appeared from one of the adjacent hallways- the exact one she and Sam were running towards, as fate would have it. It was an Ogre, of the one headed variety, his skin pale like chalk. He wore a loincloth and a set of plain iron bracers. He looked to be more fat than muscle, and was unremarkable as far as Ogres went. One side of his lower jaw was covered in a large scar that reached nearly to his chin and spoke of a possible burn wound incurred in his past. As soon as he caught sight of Adora and Sam, his dopey face morphed from slack-jawed apathy to rage. A growl bubbled up from within. He had come lured by the promise of the sweet sugary scents. The Elf and Gnoll would have to suffice.

Sam drew his pistol and fired two quick shots at the beast charging at them, the revolver leaping in his hand as he did so. The bullets slammed into Spackle-Jaw's chest, but the sheer amount of ogre lard ensured they didn't penetrate far. Adora wielded her staff and hurled a blast of energy at the Ogre's legs. Her magic was no use in holding a living thing indefinately, as muscles could constantly replenish stolen inertia.

The Ogre roared as his feet were swept out from under him and he fell face-first, plowing up the dungeon floor as he slid a ways before he came to rest. Faster than his size would suggest, he leapt to his feet and stomped the floor in a tantrum. Sam fired the remaining four shots from his pistol, going for the Ogre's head but only catching it in the upper chest and shoulder. He swapped a new cylinder into the gun, the action hastened by muscle memory. Adora threw several kinetic blasts at him in rapid succession, the faint blue shimmering comets battering the Ogre from all sides.

Everything seemed to just bounce off the cursed brute. He was upon them, and Adora and Sam each dashed in opposite directions as the Ogre brought both his massive fists down into the floor where they had stood a split second earlier. He roared and seemed indesicive as to who he should pursue. Finally, he looked down at his feet, where a large chunk of the floor had been dislodged by his fists. He bent over and picked it up, hoisting the stone above his head as he went to hurl it at Sam. As soon as he did so, Adora sapped the chunk of it's inertia and it fell directly down onto the Ogre's head, smashing into bits and dust. It stumbled and fell to it's knees, dazed by the blow. A single shot rang out and the Ogre fell face-first, this time unmoving once it's bulbous body stopped jiggling. Sam stood across from her, looking over the fallen Ogre. "Bullseye" He said, "You okay?" She flashed a thumbs-up, "Dandy".  
"Let's hurry and move on. Old lard head here probably alerted everything in ten miles with his yelling" Adora said as she quickly consulted the map. She pointed to one of the hallways and they departed the scene at a hurried pace.

Behind them, the dead Ogre lay still. From between the niches in the brick surrounding the corpse, tiny light green tendrils sprouted and crept toward it. The vines snaked around the massive limbs, then punctured the blubbery skin, growing directly into it until a heavy carpet of green spiderwebs covered the corpse.


	4. Chapter 4

He was a Dwarf, one of the oldest and most revered in his clan. He was the strongest, smartest, and women lined up for miles just to stroke his gigantic beard. His wit was so sharp that he could fell entire forests simply by telling a joke toward it. At least, this was the case within his own shattered and fragmented mind. He had spent the past decade burrowing down through the rock, mining and chipping away, driven by the conviction that a vast horde of untold treasure awaited. How he had learned of the legend was lost even to him among the tangle of corrupted half memories, half dreams. The Dwarf did not know, or care what was real anymore. The treasure was the one exception. It was real. It was his entire purpose. He had subsisted on the odd mushrooms that he encountered down in the mine, and water from the great springs that trickled up from beneath.

Then the wall ahead of the Dwarf collapsed one day to reveal the fabled motherlode. The fruit of his labor was a musty, demolished room of plain stone. There had been a bookshelf within and nothing more. He had picked up each one of the books and screamed "What is this!?" at each and every one of them, as if his outrage could transmute them into solid gold. As the last bit of sentience faded within him, he had torn off the ragged scraps of clothing that clung to his muscular frame and taken up his battered pickaxe, eyeballs turned red with bulging blood vessels.

He encountered explorers once in a while. The sheer ferocity with which he attacked overwhelmed them, though he was in no state of mind to keep track of his kills. His pickaxe had been caked with blood before he had exchanged it for a mace lifted off one of his victims. After a while, the Lady of the dungeon blessed him. Thick flowering vines grew around his mace while he slept one night, and sprouted vicious thorns that dripped with venom. The same night, she had appeared to him in his dreams, and promised of a great reward if he continued to dispatch trespassers. The treasure was real.

As Adora and Sam continued their trek deeper and deeper, the dungeon took on a strange sort of ambience- a far off, deep hum that was just on the verge of hearing. The sort of sound that was not pervasive, but which it's absence would be noticed instantly. The odd sourceless light continued, probably necessary for the plant life they encountered. Vines crept up the walls in some spots. Young saplings stood in the hall in clusters, the loose floor tiles they had displaced scattered about their bases. A few of the plants that erupted from the floor had the appearance of small bloated cacti and were definately not something you wanted to sit on. Time stretched on, and the adrenaline from the battle with the Ogre wore off. Doors were positioned on either wall of the corridor, some inaccessible due to plant growth. They decided not to investigate and become sidetracked, or risk awakening another jovial resident.

Miles above, there was activity in the ruins. A rotund Human in flowing purple robes stood alongside a taller but quite scrawny redheaded man clad in leather armor, with a broadsword strapped across his back. Baron Mordrake, the heavier of the two, mopped his sweat-soaked bald head with a handkerchief. "This is the spot, I'm sure of it. The portal only activates at noon"  
"So we obviously missed it" Lyath, the skinny one, replied shielding his eyes as he noted the position of the sun. "I suppose we shall have to make camp for the night then". Their horses shuffled about behind them, hitched among the trees skirting the ruins. The Baron's rose tinted head bobbed, "Yes. It shall be enough of an ordeal obtaining the amulet as is". Lyath braced for another rant on the old journal being stolen. The Baron had thrown more tantrums over the burglary of his keep than he could count, and Lyath was already sick of it. His mercenaries were combing the countryside for the culprit, what was to be gained by screaming about it? Lyath solved his problems with a cool head and a sharp blade. Before more could be said, however, an unexpected sight appeared from around a rising of smashed rock.

Lyath watched the Baron approach the Gnomish girl. The small, kind part of him felt dread for her. He knew the kind of animal the Baron was, had played silent witness to the things he did behind closed doors. Money clearly did not equate with kindness. "What have we here?" The Baron said, "Peddling sweets are we?" The Wolf pulling the cart regarded the fat man with a menacing snarl, but did not move to attack. "Care to try a bite?" Kandi asked the man, cheerful even in the face of his domineering bulk. The Baron scratched one of his many chins with a finger, then pointed at the Wolf, "I'll take the mutt. I could use a nice new set of boots". He grinned as the Gnome frowned. "B...Biscuit isn't for sale" The Baron's eyes twinkled, taking in the Gnome's horror. "Then I shall take the damned thing" He produced a long, serrated knife from his robes, "I'll have to put it down right here so it doesn't run off, I hope you don't mind". The cart groaned, threatening to break as he leaned on it, leering at her.

The man caught a whiff of something delicious, a magically enhanced scent. What he did not catch was the innocent visage of the Gnome girl vanishing. He greedily lifted the panel atop the cart, curious to find the source of the alluring aroma. "Interested in this?" Kandi asked, presenting a vivid green-frosted cupcake that seemed to glow. "It smells quite delectable" He said, swiping the baked treat from her. He inhaled it and noisily wiped his mouth with a sleeve. Behind him, Lyath clamped his hand over his mouth trying to keep himself from laughing. Had the Baron had any magical sense, he would have refused the deceptive goody. It saved him the trouble of killing the fat man down in the dungeon, as he had planned from the start. A man of such power, taker of countless lives, finally done in by none other than his own appetite.

The Baron's empty robes and jewelry lay on the ground, surrounding a gingerbread man. "Hmph. Not so tough now, are ya?" Kandi said, picking up the former Baron. The transformation was a little too literate, as a stretch of licorice between the gingerbread man's legs protruded. "Blegh. That's a bit vulgar" Kandi said, rummaging through the cart and producing a pair of scissors. She snipped the offending piece of licorice off and then stared at the gingerbread man. "Hmm...I've never used the cupcake of judgement on anybody. I wonder what the ethics of this are. Should I sell him, or is it still cannibalism?" She wondered out loud. Biscuit had no input on the matter. Lost in thought, eyes on the clouds, Kandi absentmindedly took a bite out of the gingerbread man. Lyath strolled over to her as she spat on the ground and attempted to wipe the crumbs from her tounge, "You have done a service to decent folk everywhere, milady" He tossed a couple silver on the countertop of the cart and picked up the now legless gingerbread baron. He muched on his former boss as he struck up a conversation with the Gnome. His five-o-clock shadow, square jaw, and brilliant blue eyes set on a ruggedly handsome face took their effect and the Gnome was quickly on the way to becoming smitten. If he had to spend an extra night here, he supposed he could at least entertain himself.

It had been close to an hour since they entered the dungeon. At long last, the hallway they were following opened up into a wide chamber, spanned by a bridge that started at the mouth of the entrance and crossed to another similar looking corridor. In the area below, a massive tangle of plant life had sprouted, reaching up just short of the bridge and concealing the floor from which it grew. Sam held a great distaste for heights, but the canopy of the miniature jungle gave the illusion that they were not very high up. The air was humid and a carpet of moss had grown on the bridge, muffling their footsteps. They were halfway across when something displaced itself from the heights above. The spider's carapace was an unnatural mottled green, twice as large as a horse.

It crawled down the wall and stepped onto the opposite side of the bridge, blocking their path. Sam shouted as he was hit with a string of gooey webbing, his arms plastered solidly to his waist. He fell to his knees losing his balance as he struggled against the substance. The second bolt of webbing was aimed at Adora, but she brought her staff up to bear in time to defend herself. The spider continued to spew webbing, it's string making a sudden ninety degree drop into the floor just in front of the woman until a massive glob of the stuff had accumulated, nearly three feet high, oozing across the bridge. The spider skittered forward at them, it's legs ripping free chunks of the moss on the bridge. It's mandibles were as large as a butcher's knife and they looked ready to sink into flesh.

Adora grabbed Sam with one hand, hauling him backwards while she plopped one end of her staff into the blob of webbing and channeled a sudden explosive dose of kinetic energy into it. The blob of web was hurled directly back into the face of the approaching spider, welding two of it's foremost legs to the bridge in mid-stride. The creature was flipped forward in an involuntary somersault, it's six free legs wildly convulsing at the air. It flopped up and down, trying to right itself, each impact shaking the bridge. Adora pelted it with kinetic blasts, snapping off one of the legs in the process but at last it fell still. A sludge-like green fluid oozed from the shattered carapace. "Ugh. This stuff is nasty" Sam said. He ripped one arm free of the web, and drew his dagger to finish the job. Bits of web still clung to his tunic, and he batted them off. "I really hope we aren't going to be running into too many more bugs" Adora said, disgusted at the sight ahead of them.

The moaning sound behind them redirected their attention, however. A couple of the doors in the corridor they had just come from swung open and a grisly sight stood fixing them with it's empty gaze. It was humanoid, though of what race it had once been was impossible to tell. The flesh had eroded badly and taken on a sickly greenish hue much akin to the spider. It was as if gangrene had taken their entire body all at once. Thin diseased brown vines weaved in and out of the skin, hanging down like tattered clothing from the abominable things. Where the vines punctured the body, a thick black sludge oozed out, with the consistency of wet coffee grounds. Sam drew his pistol, "Woah. Looks like the plants and zombies worked things out".

More of the dead things shambled into view as Adora threw a blast, caving in the nearest zombie's head. Her kinetic blasts blew them apart, chunks of green and black sludge accumulating on the ground. Sam meanwhile exchanged his dagger for the pistol and knelt, carefully lining up head shots, expending the cylinder. One of the other closed doors in the hall was suddenly violently flung open, splintering as it hit the wall. Another dozen or so of the zombies were disgorged into the hallway.

"Hold back for a second" Adora told Sam and the Gnoll lowered his revolver. She put her staff to the floor, cutting through the moss until she felt solid stone. Keeping just enough pressure on the staff to generate the sort of energy she needed, she ground it against the floor in a figure 8 pattern, collecting the frictional heat into her outstretched palm. Her eyes flashed a very bright blue as she unleashed the firebeam, raking it slowly across the hallway. The zombies were engulfed in flames that seemed to explode out of the very air surrounding them. Adora cut the friction beam off, the line of energy dissolving into embers that hissed as they drifted down to the floor and winked out of existence. She instantly felt the mana drain though, so potent that it felt like a wave of fatigue that came with a caffeine crash. Delving into the destructive friction branch of her peculiar art was costly. Sam clapped her on the shoulder, "No wonder they made you the big boss lady". He took the interlude to push six new bullets into his gun's cylinder and click it closed.

The fire that had killed the zombies died down quickly, unable to catch in earnest on the soggy flesh and leaving mostly intact but charred bodies. Smoke lightly drifted out of the hallway, and a hideous scent reached them. It was the sound that broke the silence that drew their alarm. Spackle-Jaw barrelled into sight, trampling plants, ripping off chunks of wall. The Ogre was a parody of his former self. His skin had fllushed the same hue as the zombies, and a pair of spiraling wooden horns appeared to have split his skull. He ran in the style of a gorilla, his thick arms now pierced by jagged wooden protrusions turning them into impromptu morningstars.  
"Time to go?" Sam asked. "Time to go" Adora confirmed. They turned and vaulted atop the spider, then hit the ground on the other side and ran into the corridor beyond.


End file.
